By Kevin Rademeyer, Sports Journalist.
Pretoria is about to take its place on one of sport’s fastest rising stages.
For the first time, South Africa will host a tournament on the Qatar Airways Premier Padel Tour, with the Premier Padel Pretoria P1 taking over the SunBet Arena in Menlyn from 26 July to 2 August. It marks a watershed moment for a sport that has enjoyed explosive growth across the country and now earns its place on the world’s premier professional circuit.
The significance of the occasion cannot be overstated. Premier Padel’s calendar features only 28 tournaments each season, staged in global sporting capitals such as Paris, London, Miami and Rome. Pretoria now joins that company after organisers secured an upgrade from P2 to the more prestigious P1 category, elevating the tournament into one of the most valuable events on the international calendar.
Yhe promotion carries substantial rewards. Players will compete for a prize purse of approximately R10 million and 1,000 world ranking points, making Pretoria a compulsory stop for the game’s leading men and women. For South African fans, it offers a rare opportunity to watch the sport’s biggest names compete on home soil.
Padel’s remarkable rise has been one of the biggest success stories in world sport. Combining the tactical elements of tennis with the enclosed court and rebound play of squash, the game has become accessible to newcomers while remaining fiercely competitive at the highest level. South Africa has embraced the sport with remarkable speed. More than 410,000 amateur players now take to over 1,400 courts nationwide, creating one of the fastest growing padel communities anywhere in the world.
The Pretoria tournament represents the next step in that journey.
Delivered through a multi year partnership between Premier Padel and Primedia Sport, with the support of the South African Padel Association, the event is expected to leave a lasting legacy for the sport locally while showcasing South Africa as a destination capable of staging world class international competitions.
“This marks a historic occasion for us as South Africa,” said Primedia Sport Vice President Tobie Badenhorst. “There are only 28 events on the Premier Padel calendar in cities such as Miami, London and Paris, and now Pretoria is part of that schedule.”
The response from supporters has reflected the growing excitement. More than 4,000 tickets have already been sold, with finals weekend approaching capacity well before the opening serve.
Organisers have deliberately kept ticket prices accessible in the hope of introducing even more South Africans to a sport whose popularity shows little sign of slowing.
For one week, the SunBet Arena will become the centre of the padel world. Just as importantly, it offers South Africa an opportunity to demonstrate that it belongs there.